Archipelago Resources says quarterly production hit by weather

Archipelago Resources reported a 1.9 per cent year-on-year fall in first-quarter gold production at its Toka Tindung mine in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, as adverse weather affected operations.

The company achieved production of 31,575 equivalent ounces of gold for the first three months on the year, compared to 32,189 a year earlier.

High rainfall across the North Sulawesi region during the quarter put a dampener on production.

However, despite challenging weather conditions, the group said it maintained production levels in line with output reported in the prior year.

"This was largely due to the company continuing to source higher grade ore from the Kopra and Pajajaran deposits, in addition to the on-going blending of ore recovered from the main Toka pit," Archipelago said.

During the period, the processing plant operated slightly below nameplate capacity on a quarter by quarter basis, primarily due to the metallurgical nature of ore from the southern deposits.

Archipelago expects recovery rates to improve for the remainder of the year after installing a new oxygen plant.

The company maintained its full-year 2013 production guidance of 140,000 to 155,000 equivalent ounces of gold.

The miner also announced the appointment of Charles Knight as General Manager of Operations. He replaces Les Kwasik who left the company to pursue other ventures.

RD